Elders keen to drive as young forgo the car

Ngataki resident Bob Edwards, 105, the oldest licensed driver in the country, holds his first and his current licences. Photo / APN

Survey shows more over-65s at wheel, while other end of age spectrum is taking the bus

More elderly Kiwis are driving than 10 years ago, while more younger people are opting to be car-free. A new survey shows the proportion of over-65s who drive has grown by about 10 per cent in the past decade to 91.4 per cent.

That equates to about 170,000 more senior motorists on the road, making over-65s the third-largest group of road users, behind those aged 35 to 49 and 50 to 60.

The research by Roy Morgan shows seniors are now more likely than under-35s to drive.

"The decline in driving among younger people correlates to an increase in public transport usage," general manager Pip Elliott said.

"For instance, in the year to August 2003, 25 per cent of all 25 to 34-year-olds travelled by bus within an average three months; in the year to August 2013, this had risen to 30 per cent."

At 105, Bob Edwards is the country's oldest licensed driver. He's been driving for 88 years, still loves it, and has no plans to give up.

The Ngataki pensioner said driving his car meant he kept his independence.

"I don't want to give anything up for my age," he said. "I want to do everything I've always done."

In his almost 90 years on the road, he has reportedly had only one crash, and received just one speeding ticket.

Driving has been his life, with him taking the make-shift steering wheel of his uncle's French model De Dion Bouton car at the age of 15.

Researcher Paul Young, 28, who doesn't have a driver's licence and bikes or walks the roughly 2km trip to work in central Wellington, says being car-free is becoming increasingly acceptable.

"Certainly now it's not as weird, and I know quite a few others in the same boat."

Mr Young got his learner's licence 10 years ago, and says he may get his licence eventually, "but owning a car is something I would like to be able to avoid".

In all age groups except over 65s, the proportion of the population who drive has dropped in the past 10 years.

Nationwide there are now three million drivers, an increase of almost 400,000 over the past decade, but the overall proportion of drivers has declined slightly to 84.3 per cent.

NZTA says older drivers drive conservatively, travel fewer kilometres and don't deliberately drive unsafely.

Drivers must renew their licence at 75 and 80, and then every two years, presenting a medical certificate each time.

The survey questioned more than 10,000 New Zealanders in the 12 months to August this year.